Winter December 31

Winter in North America. There aren't many places one can go to escape the low temperatures. We're fortunate to have gotten to one of them. High yesterday was 80F with clear skies and warm breezes.

Cooking while Trekking

Our Class B is the equivalent of a very well equipped "tiny" home. It has a 5 cu. ft refrigerator/freezer, a propane two-burner range top and a convection/microwave oven. We carry a portable induction electric burner and a small electric toaster.

Eating is one of those daily tasks which require cooking and as we both enjoy cooking we added an induction electric cook top and a portable propane grill. I've recently put together a short video about our cooking. I've attached a link later in this post.

Because of the size of the B we cook outdoors wherever possible.  We like to cook and we travel to follow the sun, although we've had our share of cold weather treks (low while camping of about 5F or -15C).   When the weather is cold we will use the rangetop or induction burner and the convection/microwave. However, one must be aware of the limitations of 30A AC shore power.  One must also be careful about adding moisture to the air when it is very cold, as this will condense on cold surfaces such as windows, etc. We also prefer to conserve propane for the hot water heater and so we prefer to use the induction burner rather than the propane range top.  Cast iron works very well with the induction burner.

We trek between stationary home bases which are a travel trailer and a 5th wheel. We call the travel trailer our "cabin" and we call the 5th wheel the "mother ship". When we are at those locales we can be more sophisticated in our cooking and the 5th wheel has an oven, although I am aware of the success of others baking with the convection oven in the Roadtrek. This arrangement is by design and we began planning this in 2000. We decided the trekmobile would come first as it would allow us to confirm our regional base choices.

We've trekked about 28,000 miles in four years and our longest in the Roadtrek was 110 days. We cook most of the time and choose local fruits and vegetables when in season and available.  We supplement this with dining out, but usually choose things we won't or can't cook. That doesn't mean always simplistic things to prepare. Today G is working on eggplant parmigiana. I've made scratch cinnamon buns, but not in the Roadtrek;  primarily because we can't easily carry all of the cooking paraphernalia  required for baking in the Roadtrek.

Because we cook outdoors and in warmer weather most of the time we prefer fewer carbs and meals with salads and protein. When it does get cool we go for "comfort" foods including chicken soup and chili, etc. However, preparing these and storing the left overs have practical limitations with a 5 cu. ft. refrigerator.

The convection/microwave is wonderful for many foods. Ours has a dual mode which uses convection heat with microwave energy to cook foods. Works very well with chicken, etc.

One other practical issue is clean up. We prefer to cook outdoors where oils, moisture, smells, etc. are released into the outside air and not into the interior of the Roadtrek. Dining is sometimes inside but more frequently outside. Breakfasts on cool days may be prepared outdoors and eaten indoors.

Here's a video of some of the prepared meals:

Here's a video of the use of the convection oven:

Remote Temperature and Humidity Monitoring

I've been experimenting with a remote internet based temperature and humidity monitoring system. This is currently in a remote 'home' about 1,800 miles from where we are.  I may also use it to monitor the Roadtrek when it is "stored"via a Verizon jetpack.

I'll post more info including manufacturer's data after I'm satisfied with the performance and reliability. After a month, looks good so far.

The system consists of battery powered sensors with wi-fi connectivity and a wi-fi/internet gateway. For this to work one must have a good internet connection. The data is pushed into the "cloud" and can be accessed with an android or apple smart phone, from virtually anywhere.

The reliability seems good. That's one of my concerns. But after a month there have been no data disruptions. The sensor does work from within an operating refrigerator. However, colder temperatures reduce battery life. One of the uncertainties is sensor battery life, which is reputedly a year or more under normal "ambient" conditions. Battery life is reduced under colder conditions. I would like to get 5-6 months.

I'm currently monitoring the kitchen temperature, the refrigerator internal temperature, and the temperature of a heated storage room which is about 60 feet from the wi-fi gateway.  The amount of data per sensor is about 20 days. That's fine for me.

The system includes smartphone alerts for settable alarms. For example, I've set the refrigerator temperature alerts at higher than 46F. I don't care about the "low" temperature and so I did not set a "low temperature" alert.

I'll publish more data after a few months and I would like to determine the battery life before posting again. Here are a few photos of the smartphone screen:

Current" room and refrigerator temperatures at 2:20pm CST

Past week room temp and humidity. Low tem 65.3F and high temp on graph 67.9F

Past week refrigerator temp and humidity. Low temp 38.0F, high 42.9F. Daily defrost spikes.

Heated utility room temperatures past week, average 82.3F

White Sands Missile Base and Museum

After leaving Roswell we continued to the White Sands National Monument. Then we continued 30 miles west on US 70 to White Sands Missile Base.

Entry requires a quick background check and a photograph. This took about 10 minutes. We had decided to park the Roadtrek in a parking area outside the base and then we walked the short distance to the security office. The museum is only a few yards from the entry so we walked that, too.

The displays are really interesting. A scale model of the first nuclear device, all sorts of rocketry, a really interesting full scale cut-away of a V2 rocket and even some drones, including a Soviet are Hind helicopter drone. It was well worth the stop. At the end of the post is a link to a larger photo collection.

Click to go to Photo Album

Roswell NM -Alien Encounter

What a difference two weeks makes! In 2015 we attempted to stop in Roswell NM but a sudden winter storm created a temperature drop of about 50F during the day. That storm with icy snow in North Texas delayed us several hours, too late to see the sights of Roswell.

This year the weather was cooperative and so we stopped at Roswell about noon and walked the downtown area. We were able to visit the UFO Museum. The museum was fascinating, with the expected extraterrestrial exhibits and a definitive chronological display of the great Roswell UFO "coverup." There are also fascinating exhibits of crop circles and ancient alien lore, as well as some movie related exhibits. We enjoyed it.

Inside the UFO Museum

Roswell - Area 51 map

From the original movie -"The Day the Earth Stood Still"

Headed Southwest to escape the winter

It's time to leave the north and head south for the winter. Not quite endless summer, but it is to be an infrequent winter. This year we left earlier than usual and the weather was wonderful. This allowed us to stop in Roswell, NM, the Sand Dunes National Monument and the White Sand Missile Base. The total distance was 1837 miles.
Here was the length of each day.  This included travel, sight-seeing and meal time:

• Day 1, 1:15pm-9:30pm, 471 miles 
• Day 2, 9:00am-5:30pm, 460 miles
• Day 3, 8:00am-5:30pm, 416 miles.
• Day 4, 8:30am-5:45pm, 342 miles
• Day 5, 8:00am-10:30am, 148 miles

Here's a data table for 6 days. The first was local miles with average speed 15 MPH. The actual trek was over 5 days. Mileage (MPG) at 55-65 MPH is about 15. Speed limits were generally 70 - 75 MPH. We travel at the speed limits. Our average speed including local miles over the 5 days was 64 MPH.

Some road photos:

Dinner in West  Tulsa

Dusk in Foss, OK

Walking Roswell, NM

G behind the wheel

Driving through the Sand Dunes National Monument

White Sands National Monument

White Sands Missile Base

White Sands Missile Base

White Sands Missile Base

V2 Rocket -White Sands Missile Base

New Mexico sunset

After a few days, it all becomes a blur!

Approaching the Rincon Mountains